Regulation of miR-206 in denervated and dystrophic muscles, and its effect on acetylcholine receptor clustering.

The muscle-specific microRNA miR-206 has recently emerged as a potential regulator of genes involved in the formation and regeneration of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). This study investigated miR-206-3p (miR-206) expression in synaptic and non-synaptic regions of denervated mice and α-dystrobrevin (Dtna)-knockout mice, as well as its impact on the formation and/or maintenance of agrin-induced acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters. In denervated, Dtna-deficient and crushed muscles, miR-206 expression significantly increased compared to what was seen for innervated muscles.

Medial septum parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory neurons are impaired in a mouse model of Dravet Syndrome.

Dravet syndrome (DS) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the gene, which encodes the voltage-gated sodium channel Na 1.1 α subunit. Experiments in animal models of DS - including the haploinsufficient mouse - have identified impaired excitability of interneurons in the hippocampus and neocortex; this is thought to underlie the treatment-resistant epilepsy that is a prominent feature of the DS phenotype.

Effect of Breast Reconstruction on Kinematics and Performance during Upper Limb-Focused Functional Tasks.

Background: Breast reconstruction after curative breast cancer surgery is becoming increasingly common. There is evidence to suggest that these surgeries have negative effects on shoulder function, but to date there have been no investigations of shoulder biomechanics during functional tasks in this group. The purpose of this study was to define and compare upper limb motion of patients with breast cancer who underwent mastectomy only or mastectomy with reconstruction with a control group without cancer during a range of work-related functional tasks.

The effect of peripheral arterial disease and intermittent claudication on gait regularity and symmetry.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) affects 20-30% of older adults and is associated with intermittent claudication (IC), which is walking-induced pain. This study compared the regularity and symmetry of gait between healthy older adults and adults with PAD, and between IC and non-IC conditions in the PAD group. Eighteen control (70.